Just a servant
by toxic-kitty
Summary: A servant girls life is changed when sesshomaru becomes her master.
1. Chapter 1

Even though you don't know it, the village elders still talk about the day you were born. It's always in hushed tones and with downward glances they speak. It was the most tragic thing to happen there in many moons. The storm came down from no where, then the velvet darkness, and when the moon finally appeared your mother and the midwife lay dead in the cottage, their throats slit and you were gone. The elders searched the surrounding wood but never found any sign of you. The forest was quiet all that day and for the next year hunting was not so good.

But you weren't to know that. You were a servant at a palace. You drifted through life in a trance always unsure as to wear you should be, even though you're usually given very specific instructions on what to do.

Picture yourself, 19 years old and you serve a master you have never seen. This land is at war with the one ruled by the cold and ruthless sesshomaru, but you don't care who your master is. A demon lord would need his clothes washed same as a human one and things never change that much for a servant.

The other servant girls dislike you, or feel nothing towards you at all. They giggle and chase boys. Some have already married. But you chose to stay in the palace. For some reason boys don't interest you that much, and although you are pretty with your long brown curls and emerald eyes they got tired of chasing you along time ago. So you drift, never really connecting with people. You watch them live their lives wondering why you don't want that for yourself. It had always been that way… but your life was about to change because that was the night the castle was taken.


	2. Chapter 2

The night the castle was taken was like any other. You fell into your usual, uneasy sleep in the small room you used to share with another girl, until she left to get married.

In the lonely darkness you slept till morning. You didn't know the castle had been taken until midmorning. All the servants were summoned to the largest courtyard, there were a lot of servants and this was unusual. All assumed this must be some kind of moral boosting speech, recruiting the kitchen boys to fight or encouraging them to work harder to support the master during this difficult time. When sesshomaru entered the court yard no one new what to do, was there a truce? Was this planned? What was happening? Sesshomaru, even from this distance you could see he was handsome. He seemed to you moonlight made flesh, with his pale skin and waterfall of flowing silver hair. And even near the back of the crowd you could see that his aristocratic features were beautiful and a little feminine. You felt something suddenly when you looked at him, but the emotion was fain and unfamiliar. Maybe it was hate, you had been told to hate him. But the feeling faded and you couldn't remember what it had been like.

Sesshomaru looked at the assembled crowd and announced the death of your master.

Reaction to the news was mixed, some screamed and wept over the old master death while some decided to embrace the new. Most though, like you, didn't care. It seemed sesshomaru had taken the castle himself, killing your master and seizing his land. No one else had died. No one had been expecting an arial attack, no guards had killed. It seemed as though there had been a traitor in their midst but no one new, and few cared who. The old lord's wife had died many years ago and he had never taken another. He was childless and had no siblings. No one contested lord sesshomaru's rites to his land.

After the announcement you went back to the kitchen. Demon lords ate too. Meals often took hours to prepare and the cook appreciated all the help she could get. Usually kitchen was full of people getting on with their work but today it was full of gossip. You slipped quietly into the kitchen to listen to what every body else had to say.

'God did you see his eyes?' one servant girl asked another, 'gold as the sun'.

'Oh yes, wasn't he just gorgeous….'another said only to be interrupted by the cook.

'Now don't you be getting ideas lil girl, them deamons can be tricky an violent, pretty he may be but don't you try nothing like that.' The older servants all agreed the girls should stay away from him with there silly notions, and that what had happened to the old lord was a shame but that life moved on. Lunch took longer to prepare what with all the gossiping and when it was ready there were a surprising number of girls prepared to help take it up. 'Miki the chief shouted over the noise, you help them take that food up'.

Hearing your name shook you out of your thoughts, you were a little shocked, you had never been asked to help serve the food before, but you did what you were told, grabed the heavy tray and followed the others.

You got to the top of a long flight of stairs. The dumbwaiter was broken and the tray was heavy. You headed after every one else. The great hall was large and when you got to the table you were told by the others that you had to take your tray to lord sesshomaru's room.

You weren't happy with the prospect of more stairs but set of quickly before the food got to cold. Before long you were in front of the great door to you new master chamber. Hesitantly you knock. Come in replied the cold voice on the other side. Slowly and carefully you opened the door….


	3. Chapter 3

It happened like lightning, the second you entered the room your new master was upon you, his claws pressed to your throat. You couldn't think, what was happening, had the dark gossip you heard in the kitchen been true? You looked into his eyes, beautiful yes, but cold and full of hate. What had you done which was so wrong?

'I'm sssssso sssssoorrry' you stuttered 'the dumb waiter was broken, I'll get you something else if it's cold, I swear I'm ssssorry…' But that cold voice cut you off,

'Who are you and why are you here in my castle' he growled in your ear. You shivered; he was so close, too close. You were helpless and about to die and you didn't know why.

'I'm just a servant my lord, I've always lived here' you were shakeing, what was going on.

'Do you think I'm a fool?' Sessomaru brought himself closer, he pressed his face against your neck; 'do you really think I can't tell a demon when I smell one?'

It felt as though your heart had stopped beating, what kind of trick was this? You a demon? You were just a servant. Then it hit you… he must be mad, a mad demon lord. It all added up, but that made him more dangerous… how could you make him see reason?

Sessomaru hadn't moved, he was still pressed against you, his claws still dug into you and you were sure you felt blood trickling down your neck. 'So what kind of demon are you… a shape shifter come to poison my food', he used his free hand to gesture to the tray you had spilled on the floor. 'Or have you come in this guise to seduce me?' Though you could n longer see his face, you were sure you could feel his lips curve into a cruel smile against your ear. 'You thought this pretty form would work on Lord Sesshomaru, that I'd let a human in to my bed?' he chuckled and despite the situation you found yourself blushing.

A second later you found yourself flung to the floor as Sessomaru looked you up and down, that smile was still in place, but you were more concerned about the claws at his sides. 'You've done a good job demon, who ever you are… the shaking, the blush, the perfect human female, but your scent…' he inhaled again,'…is unmistakably demonic.'

Sesshomaru advanced continuing to look at you with those cold eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

You manage to pull yourself to your knees, tears in your eyes. You'd never begged for anything before… there had never been a need to, but now you look up into that icy stare.

'Please, is there nothing I can do or say?' You don't care that your begging any pride you had evaporated inn the presence of those claws, others said they were poisonous and you didn't doubt it. He came nearer, time had slowed and you just kept praying inside your head to any god that would listen whilst continuing to whisper 'please'.

He was standing over you now… you could feel the heat from his body but you eyes never left his.

'Is there no test I can take, no magic?'

His eyes never leaving yours he called out a name unfamiliar to you, 'Jaken'

Minutes dragged on, he continued to stare into your eyes, you tried to stop your body shaking…

The door opened and your heart leapt, was this your salvation?

In walked a creature, it was small and froglike you weren't sure what to make of it.'

'This is another of my 'servants'' sesshomaru announced. I'm sure he can tell if you're telling the truth.

It says it's human Jaken But we know it's not'

'Please save me Jaken'you address the creature now, hoping to arouse some sense of pity.

'If it's not a demon master then it is indeed a good actor'.

Jaken left the room and you were once again left alone with sesshomaru. 'I'll soon have proof that your telling the truth demon, I should kill you now, but let it not be said by the idiot servants in this place that I kill without reason.'

You knelt there in silence, just watching him

It took 5 minutes for Jaken to return, holding a strange device.

'This should show its lying. I don't understand why you don't just kill it.'

Jaken knelt besides you tentatively, as if expecting an attack…apparently he didn't trust your appearance just like sesshomaru.

He reached out and took hold of your arm, you were nervous but made no sudden movements, your new master could kill you almost instantly; it was for the same reason you didn't scream or jerk your arm away when you felt a sharp needle like thing pierce your skin. You never took you eyes from sesshomaru's. Jaken began to speak. His words were slow and clear. 'ARE YOU A DEMON?'

'No' you reply steadily. The interrogation considered for sometime, your arm burnt and your head swam but you gaze remained steady and you remained truthful.

When it was over Jaken looked at something out of your line of site, then at sesshomaru.

'She thinks she's telling the truth master, about all of it.'

Sesshomaru looked at Jaken and nodded, 'leave us' he commanded. Jaken obeyed and again you were left alone in a room with this mad demon who thought you weren't human.


	5. Chapter 5

The demons eyes looked straight through you, you were still shaking. Why was this happening to you?

You were in your masters chambers, in the study. You could smell the rapidly cooling food that had fallen on the stone floor. Sesshomaru broke eye contact and strode over to his desk. 'Sit down' he said 'we have a lot to discuss'. Terrified but ever obediant you took a seat opposite him. You look at anything but his eyes, content to stare at the back of your hands till time ended if that's what it took. Sesshomaru broke the silence 'start from the beginning'. Your eyes don't leave you hands; you mumbled that you don't understand. You don't see the slight smile on Sesshomaru face and wouldn't like it if you did as you wouldn't know what to make of it.

'How does a pureblood demon not only come to be in my service, but not even realise what she is? Maybe if you were new I'd understand, it could be some form of memory loss or a spell, but you've been here years'.

'Please lord, I'm not a demon' you voice is timid, certainly not demonic.

Sesshomaru face showed no emotion, you didn't know him well enough to see the anger in his eyes.

'Just tell me of your life, all that you can remember'

You started with you earliest memories- the orphanage where you were raised until shortly after you seventh birthday, you told him as much as you could remember about your life in the castle. You even mentioned some feelings and emotions that it wasn't to hard to talk about, just to try and prove your humanity. By the end of your story you had

Stopped shaking but felt exhausted. It was midday, you had been here hours.

Sesshomaru looked at you and spoke for the first time since you story began,' go to your room and collect your belongings'.

Your heart sank; you were being forced to leave your home and every body you knew.

'I will not have a pure blooded demon in my castle living in such filth, you will be relocated to a better room, and you will no longer work with those pathetic humans.'

You started to panic, you weren't a demon, when he realised that surely he would kill you. 'But siiir…'

'No' he roared, you shrank back in fear 'You are in my castle and you will obey me, now go and do what I say.'

You stumbled out of the room quickly after that unsure of what to do; you hurried back to your room.


	6. Chapter 6

You were sitting on your bed looking around your small room at your meagre possessions when Jaken knocked at your door. He walked straight in without waiting for your anser. You knew he was better than you, higher up and entitled to go where he pleased, but you felt a sudden surge of anger towards him. Being a good servant however, you quickly repressed it, stood up and gave a quick curtsey. Jaken sneered at this and muttered something under his breath. He looked around the room, 'still not packed?' he asked 'oh well one of the humans will move your things later, follow me'. This both offended and scared you; it made you think again of how they would react to your humanity.

You followed Jaken to one of the nicer floors in the palace, the floor bellow your Lords room. When he stopped outside a room you were shocked. This room was usually reserved for important guests, it was lavish, it was decadent, and it was a bitch to dust. All these thoughts lined up in your head along with a new one. What would the other servants think? Especially the young women. Acting above your station, pretending to be a demon, and living in a luxurious room such as this and worse, being waited on by the servants. If you weren't killed by your crazy demon lord you would have to quit and move as far away as you could.

Jaken looked at you as he opened the door. He seemed to revel in you discomfort. He dropped a small curtsey himself and left. You decided that you really hated being patronised and entered your new room.

You didn't't know what to do, this was all wrong. It wasn't your room it was meant for lords and ladies not an orphan servant girl. You didn't want to touch anything and you didn't know why. But you were so exhausted so you pushed back your fears and lay on the bed. You didn't pull back the sheets though, that seemed to…presumptuous maybe. Eventually you fell into an uneasy sleep dreaming of the punishment waiting when you were found here, found to be human, found to be an impostor; you were woken by a knocking at your door. It was one of the servant girls, her look was poison and her voice was full of hate and you were sure you deserved it. 'Lord Sesshomaru wants to see you in his rooms, mam' she said before quickly curtseying and hurrying off.

You go straight to your Lords rooms, your heart is beating fast in your chest, your afraid that he has decided to kill you. You hesitate outside his room but decide to face you fears.

You knock at his door and enter at his invitation. He sits behind his desk and raises those golden eyes but his gaze is disapproving. Why are you still wearing that, you are no longer a servant; you are a pure blooded demon and my guest'. You look down at your outfit. It's the uniform that all servants of your level wear, practical and not something a demon would wear. You feel like shouting I'm not a demon, i'm just a servant. But you know it wouldn't work.

'Give Jaken your measurements I'll have a selection of more suitable garments sent to you room'. You were surprised by this and unsure of what to say and so remain silent.

'Do sit down; I called you to say that you are a demon. I can see denial in you but you can't deny your scent. You will train with me to unlock your demonic side. I can't stand to see a demon taking orders from humans, a demon being so weak.'

You feel insulted but see that there is not room for argument.

'You will give Jaken a list of your measurements when he escorts you to your room and when I see you tomorrow you will not be dressed like a human servant, Go and rest tomorrow the training begins'.

Those words stayed with you as you lay down that night, you remained dressed and on top of the bed covers, still scared of what would happen when you were discovered sleeping in one of thee guest rooms.


	7. Chapter 7

The morning was warm and fresh and you awoke early as usual intent on a bath before starting your work. It took you a while to remember where you were. You looked around the lavish room and lay back. For the first time in your life you had nothing to do. The room was spotless and you new most of the servants wouldn't be up for a few hours. There was no way you'd be able to sleep now. You were nervous about the training lord Sesshomaru had ordered. You decided to get up and have your bath as you'd planned. The bathroom joined to your new room was a luxurious affair. The huge bath was a deep tile lined basin in the floor, expensive oils littered the shelves, there was even a small fountain … you'd always found this room a bit excessive but part of you wanted to know what such a bath would feel like. You started running the water, servants often drew baths for and bathed the rich but this had never been one of your jobs. You made your way to the bath oils and started sniffing at bottles. Exotic scents greeted you and it took you a while to find the one you liked best, it was spicy and sweet.

You stripped off the simple garment you had slept in and slipped into the hot water. Hot humid air surrounded you thick with the smeeell of the bath oil you had chosen. You sank back further into the deep water. You loved bathing, the feeling of the water flowing over and around you, washing all the tension from your muscles. The feel of the amulet against your chest reminded you of its presence, this reminder brought with it both profound relief and fear. You would have to go to lord Sesshomaru immediately. You thoughts were interrupted by a voice from the next room, Jaken walked in without any warning. Your mind went blank, you were filled with anger but he was a demon and the lords lackey and with what you had just worked out you were probably in enough trouble without upsetting someone more important than you. You settled instead for glaring and dragging the little you had been wearing into the bath to cover your nakedness before he got close enough to see. Jaken did not stay in the room for long, as soon as he saw that you had been bathing he fled leavening you puzzled. You got out of the bath dripping water and clutching the wet garment to yourself. You made your way to the bed chamber without drying yourself, deciding to find your clothes before any other guests could arrive. Where your clothes had been was now empty instead a pile of new, neatly folded clothes. You looked at them, too much silk, the colours were too vibrant. You wanted your old robe, and to go and see lord Sesshomaru and explain the misunderstanding and through yourself on his mercy, then go back to your life. But it looked as though you'd have to go and see him in these clothes, the thought made you nervous. In the end you chose a simple grey silk dress. You made sure you were dry before dressing. You had just pulled on the dress when a loud knock sounded at the door. 'Please give me a minute' you responded frantically fastening the dress before opening the door.

Lord Sesshomaru swept into the room. You looked at him, now it came time to explain your discovery you were scared of his reaction. No one would care if he killed you now in this room, you were just his servant

Before you could say anything lord Sesshomaru spoke. 'Jaken told me what happened earlier and he have been warned, you are to be treated with thee same respect as any demon guest of mine. That just leaves the question of why you remained silent when Jaken entered your chambers without permission. Why did you not demand he left, I doubt you feel any lust for a creature such as Jaken'. Despite your situation you felt an almost hysterical urge to laugh but managed to contain it. Now was time to risk your lord's wrath. Sesshomaru seemed agitated, this puzzled you and heightened your sense of fear if he was in a bad mood this was the worse time to be near him, none the less you decided to tell him, 'my lord? I do not think I am a demon, this amulet was given to me many years ago; maybe this is the scent you have been mistaking for me.' But Sesshomaru wouldn't take the amulet you offered. 'It is made of demon skin sir, to protect the wearer from evil, a gift when I left thee orphanage.'

'do I look like a fool?' he responded, 'Please do not doubt my sense of smell, even over thee bath oils you chose you scent hangs in the air like a rainbow, it's strong in this room you have slept in.' He walked to you and stood so close you could feel the heat from his body, you were reminded of how he grabbed you on the day he had accused you of being an assassin, just like that day he leaned in and inhaled the scent of your neck. As he did this his hand slowly took the amulet from you, you saw him throw it to the floor. You stood still, disgusted with you self for shivering, 'You are a demon' he breathed in your ear. You fought to keep yourself from whimpering, biting the inside of your cheek. Emotions fought inside you, emotions you quickly repressed as you stared into those golden eyes, this was the scenario those giggling girls fantasised about, but you still saw that he was a lord and a demon and you were a servant, you had no right to be this close, feeling shivers running through you and heat spreading through your body. You turned away from him, 'Why did you come to me this morning my lord?' you asked.

'To begin your training, I thought that, being a servant would have given you a tendancey to wake early.'

He was right.

'You will need to change; we're going to the forest'

He waited outside while she changed into something more practical and braided her long hair. Soon they set of together for the distant forest. The walk was a silent one. She still walked in the dreamlike way of someone sure they were living the wrong life. After an hour of walking they reached a clearing. Sesshomaru spoke 'Your training will be mental and physical; our aim is to get your demonic side to manifest itself. Once this happens we will have a better idea how you came to be here and what we should do with you.' The statement sounded foreboding, you new this training would bee tuff.

He gave you a sword and started instructing you in its uses, after 3 hours he took it away from you, telling you that he would have to teach you how to move first.

By the end of the day you were sure you had made no progress at all and that lord Sesshomaru would decide he was wasting his time. But when lord Sesshomaru spoke he surprised you. 'I did not think to bring food today, you must be hungry.' You looked blankly at him, of course you were hungry, and you hadn't eaten all day that thought had been distracting you for the last couple of hours. He looked at you, it dawned on you that he was expecting a response. 'M' lord?' you questioned.

'The day after tomorrow I will have servants send your breakfast to your room early; I'll also have them prepare a lunch.'

'What do you expect me to do tomorrow my Lord?' you asked. He looked at you for a second. 'Rest, your muscles may be sore. Tonight I will show you how to meditate; do this tomorrow if you can.'

There walk back to the palace after that was silent.


End file.
